Enthusiasts have discovered that the macOS High Sierra 10.13.4 developer beta code comes with subtle hints at a desktop Podcasts app, possibly indicating that podcasts might be unbundled from iTunes in favor of a standalone app.

Apple’s Podcasts app is currently available for iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.

Digging through macOS 10.13.4, 9to5Mac noticed that the software includes privacy information for a non-existent Podcasts app for macOS. The publication took it as a sign that the Podcasts app may be coming to macOS soon.

From the report:

This privacy information indicates that a user’s podcast listening is linked to a random device identifier which is synced through iCloud in a way that cannot be linked to other Apple services. Apple collects data about users’ listening habits to share with podcast publishers.

The most interesting part is that it specifically mentions “Your use of the Podcast app is linked to your Apple ID”. We can’t be sure whether it’s just a typo and/or whether they left this privacy information on macOS by accident, but this could mean we’re going to see a Podcasts app for macOS in the future.

But why stop there?

My hope is that Apple will gradually unbundle all services from iTunes in favor of separate apps like on iOS. If you ask me, we should have a standalone app for Apple Music, a dedicated desktop TV app and so forth.

As for iTunes’ syncing ability, there should be a separate app just for mobile device sync.